Frequently asked questions

Get answers to the most commonly asked questions about this product.

A different way to procure storage capacity for your business requirements that is linked to your business initiatives, calculated monthly on consumption and billed quarterly.

How does it work?

We establish your current and future capacity needs and agree on a configuration. Then we ship the entire solution so that you can get started quickly. As you grow, you simply provision the storage up or down as your needs dictate.

What business value does it provide?

You only pay for what you use, average measured daily over a monthly period, billed quarterly. No need to over buy capacity. High upfront costs are moved to a predictable quarterly charge directly aligned with your usage. No need to disrupt your IT environment to keep any capacity buffer full.

Which IBM Storage products can be purchased with the IBM Storage Utility offering?

The IBM Storage Utility Offering is ideal for all industries and customers with more than 250TB capacity needs and growing.

Pricing

How do I purchase the IBM Storage Utility offering?

Contact your local IBM representative or your preferred IBM Business Partner. We will work with you to understand your capacity needs and build a plan for your specific business needs. We deliver the systems with 100% of your projected capacity so you can quickly move forward with your initiatives.

What happens if my capacity needs shrink?

If your data needs shrink during any month, your monthly capacity bill will reflect your capacity usage, with the minimum being your current “base” needs.

What happens if my capacity needs increase?

Additional capacities are instantly available, simply provision what you need. There is no need for a vendor to enter or disrupt your data center to top up buffer capacity. This also eliminates the need for a lengthy procurement cycle to add new capacity within the contract period.

Other common questions

How is the IBM Storage Utility Offering different from other utility or on-demand solutions?

The IBM Storage Utility Offering delivers all capacity and required software licenses up front. There is no incremental buffer capacity to keep updated and ahead of your capacity needs. If something unexpected comes up, you are covered.

Will we need to schedule a technician to add capacity?

Because you have all your capacity requirements up front, there is no need for anyone to enter your computer room to expand or update your buffer with additional hardware or software. All capacity is instantly available on day 1 for provisioning. No Raid groups to rebalance, no pools to rebuild.